Rev. Jha is the Director of the Oakland Peace Center and author of the recent book Pre-Post-Racial America: Spiritual Stories from the Front Lines. You can read from her blog here.
Rev. Bell is the Director of the Yakama Christian Mission and Just Farm Living on the Yakama reservation in Washington. He is also one of the leading Disciples of Christ thinkers looking at the influence of the Doctrine of Discovery concerning indigenous peoples on church institutions. You can read from his blog here.
I can personally attest to their competence and leadership in confronting systemic racism in our communities and society. I studied with David in the summer of 2005 while serving as a Mission Intern at the Yakama Christian Mission, where he trained me in anti-racist thinking and practices. A few years later, I attended a 2-day anti-racism training with Sandhya as one of the facilitators. Both of them have been trained through Crossroads program, a national antiracism training organization. They are also wonderful people!
During Friday and Saturday, attendees will learn about and discuss together the themes of how racism works in America, its power and connection to diverse communities, the influence of the doctrine of discovery, and how we can build up the beloved community and work against oppression. Our former Associate Director Sean Patrick wrote last year about how a one-day version of the training impacted him. It should be a powerful experience for all those who attend!
Walking an anti-racist discipleship,
Timothy Murphy
Executive Director